Abstract

The proper irrigation scheduling and nitrogen management are crucial for sustainable cucumber production. A field experiment was therefore, set up during the dry seasons of 2018 and 2019 at the Teaching and Research Farm Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Ekiti State University, Ekiti State Nigeria to evaluate the effect of drip irrigation frequency and N-fertilization on yield and water use efficiency of cucumber. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (factors 3 × 2) in split-plot arrangement with three replications. The main block consisted of three levels of drip irrigation frequencies: twice a week (I2), three times a week (I3) and four times a week (I4 ) while the subplots were nitrogen fertilization viz., no fertilization (N0) and N180 (180 kg N/ha through urea). The highest yield (186 t/ha) was obtained from three times a week irrigation with N at 180 kg/ha treatment which was 58.49% higher than the lowest yield (132 t/ha) obtained from two times a week irrigation without N fertilization. Drip irrigation frequency and N-fertilization significantly influence (P<0.05) number of fruits, yield and water use efficiency of cucumber. Irrigation water use efficiency was greatest with two times a week irrigation without N fertilization treatment. Reducing the frequency of water application to treatment I2 increased cucumber water use efficiency (WUE). Correlation was obtained (r = 0.51*, r = -0.42*) between water use efficiency and fruit yield, respectively for the two years of study. This study observed that WUE could be good criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of irrigation base on the results obtained and it was concluded that treatment of thrice a week water application with 180 kg/ha N as urea was adequate in terms of fruit yield and water use efficiency and hereby recommended for cucumber cultivation. Therefore, the three times a week irrigation with N at 180 kg/ha treatment could successfully be used to reduce water and fertilizer application for improving cucumber yield on the field.